I understand that it's pretty much impossible to accept the fact that the war was based on a false premise, especially because it will make it very hard for Bush to be re-elected.
And so, people who want Bush to be re-elected are looking for ways to convince doubters that the war was not based on false premises.
The reason I poo-poohed the Sarin shell is because I already know it's not enough to convince doubters and neither is 20 tons of agricultural chemicals and explosives. The reason I know this is that I've been following the stories closely for months, for over a year.
We can agree that Al Qaeda are bad people and they do bad things, and we can agree that gathering 20 tons of agricultural chemicals and explosives is not a good thing. But 20 tons of agricultural chemicals and explosives are not the premises that Bush started the war on. It won't do.
The way it was being spun was that it was VX, which is not an agricultural chemical. That allegation has gone away, now.
We've been getting false reports about chemical warfare agents for months, for over a year.
There is an initial field test which indicates that something may be a chemical warfare agent, but when it's tested in a laboratory, it's not a chemical warfare agent.
The press got all excited about this for several months, and they don't do that any more. Poor Judith Miller at the NYTimes is a laughing stock because she kept getting excited longer than anybody else.
I am perfectly happy to let the matter drop now. I do feel sorry for Bush because I think the way ya'll are going about it makes him look worse, not better, but you're grownups, do what you want. |
